A Love So Great

A Love So Great Q uestion You have said that we cannot measure how free we are by how we feel or what we think. So how can we finally determine whether we are free or not? Answer How free we are can be determined by how much love we are able to manifest. Q What does that actually mean? A What that means is how much delusion about the nature of love, truth and self we are able to destroy in others. Q I thought you were going to say “within ourselves.” A “Within ourselves” is a very dubious arena. It’s hard to tell what “within ourselves” actually means. In the end, you can only find out what is going on within yourself by the depth of intimacy and unshakable trust that you are able to demonstrate in your relationships with other people. When all is said and done, that is the only way you will be able to determine clearly what is happening inside yourself. Otherwise there is no way to tell for sure. Don’t you see, if we want to be free then we must be sincere about destroying all of the boundaries that keep us separate. If we are sincere we will ultimately discover that those boundaries are only personal. It is with that recognition that the profoundly limited way that we relate to self, other and life as a whole can be completely transformed. Q In what way? A In such a way that when you are associating with others, you are no longer relating in a manner that is fundamentally personal. Why? Because you have realized a love that is so great that by its sheer magnitude a relationship that was based on that which could be called personal could never contain it. What this means is that you are now no longer so preoccupied with the history, gender or age of the other. Now you are primarily interested in the mystery of Self that constantly reveals itself to be the only Truth in every moment. When all else becomes secondary, it is this that becomes apparent. The kind of love I’m speaking about has nothing to do with time, with history, with that which is personal. This kind of love contains no trace of sentimentality. If you are compelled to respond to this kind of love then believe me, your so-called personal life will become transformed in a way that is unimaginable. This love and the power of its demand for absolute submission to itself is far too destructive to all that is false for most to bear. Indeed, this kind of submission has to be something one is already intuitively attracted to, otherwise it will never be recognized for what it truly is: an unconditional demand from a love that is absolute. Unadorned, undistorted by fear and uncorrupted by desire, make no mistake about it, true love threatens every false notion we have about self, life and reality as a whole. True love threatens absolutely everything. This is the highest form of love. Again, what I’m speaking about has no relationship to a love that is merely personal. Sentimental feelings and our attachment to them will always only reveal themselves to be agents of a separate existence. Love that is transcendent is impersonal and cares not about that which is personal. This is a big, big stretch and difficult for most to truly grasp. The question “What is in that kind of love for me?” is often the unstated but deeply felt response. The answer is ­nothing. This is why I rarely speak about love. Because I know that when I use that word, what is most often thought of has nothing to do with the kind of love that I’m pointing to. True love has everything to do with relationship, with that magnetic force that draws us together. Love that is free from that which is personal purifies unconditionally. Like fire—it burns. We must be willing and ready to be consumed by this fire, otherwise we will say, “This is too much for me.” Q What is it like to be in a relationship with one who has realized the depth of love you are speaking about? A Overwhelming in its intensity, absolute in its demand. Q But does this intensity have the power to pull others up to its level? A Yes, of course it does. But more likely it will send ­people running. It all depends upon how far one wants to go. For the uninitiated, the reason that the power of this kind of love is so disarming is that within its parameters falsehood cannot survive. The quickest way to lose those you think you love the most is through discovering true love. You see, so many of us hide in relationships that are based on that which is false, superficial and ultimately insubstantial. But if we truly desire Liberation, then we will seek for the kind of relationships with others in which it would be impos­sible to hide. This will help to understand the way in which spiritual awakening directly affects the depth and quality of the relationships we have with others. Q What is it exactly that would compel us to run from true love? A Fear of truth. Fear of recognizing falsehood. The overwhelming fear of being truly free. That is why so many of us are so deeply invested in seeing that which is limited in a much bigger light than it actually is. If we truly want to be free, we will find a strength of intention within ourselves that will protect us from the temptation to escape into falsehood. We will be unwilling to see that which is unreal as real and that which is false as true. Because we will know that in the end, there is no escape.